Gleason: Peyton had no answer for Seattle defense

Monday

Feb 3, 2014 at 2:00 AMFeb 3, 2014 at 10:27 AM

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Two weeks are a long time for a coronation. But that is what seemed to be playing out leading to Super Bowl XLVIII. We heard it from the diehard fan and the non-fan and, yes, a lot of well-paid football experts with a voice. This was Peyton Manning's time.

KEVIN GLEASON

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Two weeks are a long time for a coronation. But that is what seemed to be playing out leading to Super Bowl XLVIII. We heard it from the diehard fan and the non-fan and, yes, a lot of well-paid football experts with a voice. This was Peyton Manning's time.

Except it wasn't Peyton Manning's time. Not on Super Bowl Sunday at MetLife Stadium, where his brother was fresh off his own struggles this season.

Not against the best defense in football, one of the very best to hit the NFL in a long time, the Seattle Seahawks. They took down the Broncos 43-8 for the championship of the NFL.

It was easy to feel for Manning, as classy as they come with a personality and professionalism to match his place as one of the top three or four quarterbacks in history. He will be in that same class if he never wins a second ring. For those outside the greater Seattle area, Manning was awfully hard to root against on Sunday. So the love affair began about 10 seconds after Denver took down New England for the AFC title.

Peyton Manning. His time. Legacy. Two weeks to prepare.

And somewhere along the line, more than a few folks might have lost sight of this Seattle defense. This was a defense that spent a good chunk of the season beating up on teams from a far superior conference. The Seahawks allowed seven points in beating Carolina. They beat San Francisco by 26, then again for the NFC title, a Niners team that was the second best team in football. The Seahawks beat New Orleans by 27. They shut out the Giants right here at MetLife, not the biggest win on their schedule but impressive nonetheless.

But this was Peyton Manning with two weeks of preparation. This was supposed to be different.

It was hardly different.

You can bet Seattle developed a good-sized chip on its shoulder by the time kickoff arrived a tad past 6:30 p.m. The Seahawks wasted no time establishing the tone, starting with help from a botched snap resulting in a safety, then by some good old-fashioned smash-mouth defense.

Manning made a living with the 10-yard completion this season. So Seattle slowed down receivers at the line and stuck to them on intermediate routes. They showed a bunch of different looks that seemed to confuse the perpetually unflappable Manning. Even when Manning wasn't confused, he had few places to throw the football given Seattle's athletic linebackers and defensive backs.

When Seattle placed the cherry on top — an aggressive pass rush that Manning hadn't seen in weeks — the Broncos had no chance. Manning never approached anything resembling a comfort zone. Denver's first three possessions were the safety, a three-and-out and Kam Chancellor's interception on Manning's terrible floater with defensive end Cliff Avril in his grill. That led to a touchdown, and then Avril did one better by hitting Manning as he was about to throw a third-and-13 pass from the Seattle 35.

Avril's impact sent the pass fluttering to no one in a Denver uniform. Linebacker Malcolm Smith intercepted it in stride and ran 69 yards for the touchdown and a 22-0 Seahawks lead 3:21 before halftime.

Denver tried screens and Seattle either snuffed them out or showed alarmingly fast closing speed to force short gains. It was, at times, as if Seattle had a copy of Denver's playbook, Manning's playbook. The Seahawks had everything covered, whether it was a screen or a throw over the middle or short out patterns. They knew Manning couldn't beat them deep, not given his modest arm strength and Seattle's speed on the back end. So they took away his short game with speed and bruising hits.

Seattle put away Denver for good with Percy Harvin's 87-yard kickoff return for a score to open the second half. The game was essentially over, Seattle leading 29-0. The coronation could officially begin a couple hours later, the Seahawks' coronation.

kgleason@th-record.com;

Twitter: @th_KevinGleason

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